I will do my very bestest to post pictures (and hopefully video) tonight, but for now, here’s a written account of the happenings.

13-hour drive down went very smoothly until right outside of Phoenix, where we hit major rush-hour traffic. Do you have any idea how much it sucks to have driven 13 hours and be 10 minutes away from your destination and be stuck in traffic that turns that last 10 minutes into 45? It sucks ass.

Arrived at the aunt’s abode and said our hellos. Introduced the dogs. Ben was very confused by the gigantic water bowl (read: pool) that the big dogs kept drinking out of/swimming in. He and Shadow (the dumb black lab) were best friends pretty quickly; Toffee (the grumpy yellow lab) was mostly annoyed with Ben all weekend long. It was funny to watch Ben tease her with his “I’m gonna almost bat you in the face with my paws” dance.

Shortly after unloading the car, I had a glass of wine in my hand and we were playing cards, and I was thinking, “Man, I love Thanksgiving in Phoenix.”

Woke up very early Thursday morning, thanks to a dog who was anxious to get out of captivity and play with his new friends. Drank mimosas and enjoyed a big delicious thanksgiving breakfast. I went on a walk with my dad and two of the dogs. It was really nice – I really like walking with my dad. We talked about how this is going to be the first Christmas in 26 years that he and my mom will be alone (kid-free) on Christmas morning. He seemed a little sad about it. I’m sad too. This will be my first Christmas ever away from my parents. I know it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it is to me. And knowing that they’re going to be all alone isn’t exactly helping. I’m sure I’ll have fun with Tim’s family, and it’ll be great, but I think I’m really going to miss my parents and our family traditions that day. Although I am going to make sure that I get coffee cake for breakfast and watch “The Grinch.” Some traditions simply cannot be skipped, no matter where you’re spending Christmas.

Anyway, back to thanksgiving. Played with the dogs and got out of the pj’s in time for turkey dinner at the crazy early time of 1:30. Man I love turkey dinner. So freakin’ good! Although, we all were done eating so fast, my cousin Shelly had it right when she said, “It seems like so much preparation – days of cooking – for 15 minutes of eating.” But, of course, there’s always the leftovers to enjoy.

Napping, more wine drinking, and card playing consumed the remainder of the day. Man I love thanksgiving in Phoenix.

Friday was more of the same. Dogs played and swam (or attempted to, in Ben’s case). we sat around and enjoyed each other’s company. Made pizzas for dinner – another yummy thanksgiving tradition. Then we had quite the exciting game of Catch Phrase. Such a great freakin’ game – especially when there’s wine involved. Next time any of you are with a group of friends, I highly recommend breaking out the wine and catch phrase. Hours of laughter will ensue, I guarantee it.

Saturday, Tim and I, along with my aunt and cousin, took the dogs on a “two-mile” (as quoted by my aunt) hike. It turned out to be 4 rather difficult miles. (Difficult for those of us who are out of shape, anyway) The dogs had a hard time with it, too, seeing as how they were so tired from playing non-stop for several days. Ben actually just stopped and refused to walk any further at one point. Tim had to carry the little guy for awhile. It was funny. After a few minutes of rest, though, Ben was ready to go again. It was a difficult hike, but it felt so good to be active after just sleeping and eating for two days straight. Then, of course, we went to Outback with my uncle and promptly un-did any good we did ourselves with the hike. It was soooo good, though. I am nearly drooling now just thinkng about it. Plus I love hanging out with my uncle – he’s loads of fun.

Sunday was spent in the car, once again. We hit traffic in construction zones in new mexico a couple of times, but somehow we made better time coming home than we did going there. Although I’m tempted to write an angry letter to the jackass in New Mexico who decided it would be a good idea to shut down I-40 to one lane in two different places on one of the busiest travel days of the year. The dubmass should be fired immediately.

Anyway, it was a great trip overall. Definitely worth every minute in the car. I just really love thanksgiving in phoenix. It’s high-quality, fun family time, for sure.

Edit: I just saw that I titled this post as a “brief summation.” Ha! Not so brief after all…sorry, folks!

Has anyone seen that Papa John’s commercial that starts out in a football huddle? Some football guy (I don’t follow sports, sorry) asks “Who wants to go deep?” and Papa John Schnatter himself says, way too enthusiastically, “I do!”

Are Tim and I the only ones who giggle inappropriately every single time we see this commercial?